Despite the loss of Russell Westbrook for many of their games, OKC sits second in the loaded Western Conference and in league at 49-18. Durant's been playing out of his mind, a favorite for now to win the MVP race. But has he had an overlooked sidekick this season, a new Robin to his Batman? My stats say yes. His name is Serge Ibaka.
Despite the loss of Russell Westbrook for many of their games, OKC sits second in the loaded Western Conference and in league at 49-18. Durant's been playing out of his mind, a favorite for now to win the MVP race. But has he had an overlooked sidekick this season, a new Robin to his Batman? My stats say yes. His name is Serge Ibaka.
Rebounding: 1.55 PAA
Rim Defense: 1.88 PAA
Ibaka, despite not even being an all-star, is a rare big man with many talents. To begin with, he is one of the few players in the league that is a dominant defensive presence and an elite rebounder. Using my PAA methods, he is one of two players to have above 1.5 PAA in both rebounding and rim defense, the other being Andrew Bogut. Even when those restrictions are expanded to above 1 PAA in both categories, the list only includes Ibaka, Bogut, Joakim Noah, Robin Lopez, Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, and John Henson (minimum 40 games). That list contains some of the best big men in the game, but it is not Ibaka's presence on this list alone that makes him unique.
Sidenote: You may ask how he is an elite rebounder, since he is averaging only 8.8 rebounds, which ranks 19th in the league. But by PAA he is the ninth best rebounder, above players like Blake Griffin and Tim Duncan, who have more pure rebounds than him. Remember, for PAA I only look at contested rebounds. Ibaka is among the top ten of contested rebounds per game, and also in the top in terms of contested rebounding percentage. A large reason why Ibaka may not have as many rebounds as some players whom I said he was better than is that he has Kevin Durant on his team, who snags a TON of uncontested rebounds. Where as nearly half of Ibaka's rebounds have been contested, barely over 20% of Durant’s rebounds have. This suggests that Ibaka is deferring uncontested rebounds to Durant a lot of the time. But when it comes down to fighting for rebounds, Ibaka is very talented at doing that.
Close Shots: 0.78 PAA
Catch and Shoot 2's: 0.94 PAA
Total Shot: 1.78
Of all the players with over 1 PAA in both rebounding and rim defense, they are either having a down year offensively (Duncan) or are not know to be skilled offensively (everyone else). Yet Ibaka is the outlier: he is actually quite a skilled offensive player. He is fifth in terms of close scoring among players who have played more than thirty games, and he is second (behind only Dirk Nowitzki) in terms of catch and shoot twos. Obviously he doesn't have the range of a player like Kevin Love, but he also doesn't only have the ability to dunk like Blake Griffin. Among big men who have played more than thirty games this season, he ranks behind only Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Bosh, and Kevin Love in terms of total shooting. The fact that he is among the top the rebounders, defenders, and scorers shows how unique he really is.
The Rest
The rest of his stats are nothing special. Ibaka is slightly positive in catch and shoot threes as well as pull up threes, but slightly negative in drives and pull up twos. He's also below average in terms of passing and steals. But what keeps him among the top players in terms of PAA is that he doesn't have a single really bad category. Kevin Love is really bad at defense. Blake Griffin is only significantly above average in two categories: close shots and rebounding. Dwight Howard has limited offensive moves. The player most similar to Ibaka may be Al Horford, who in his 29 games this season post similar close and catch and shoot numbers to Ibaka, similar rebounding numbers, and his defense was only slightly below 1 PAA.
Ibaka has posted great numbers this year, but is he among the best players in the league? It is possible that playing with a player like Kevin Durant has allowed Ibaka to excel. He doesn't have to do too much offensively, and undoubtedly gets a bunch of open looks when Durant is double-teamed. He also complements Durant nicely, providing a physical, shot blocking presence in the frontcourt to go along with the Slim Reaper. If Ibaka were asked to do what Griffin has been doing for the Clippers the past month, maybe he wouldn't be posting as good of numbers.
But he has been posting these numbers, and was worthy of an all-star spot after helping Durant to guide the Thunder to such a hot start. I'd have rather seen Ibaka in there than Anthony Davis, LaMarcus Aldridge, or even Tony Parker. With Westbrook back, the Thunder now have a dynamic trio, and new Big Three could be crowned NBA champions this June. Without Ibaka, I don’t think that happens.
Rebounding: 1.55 PAA
Rim Defense: 1.88 PAA
Ibaka, despite not even being an all-star, is a rare big man with many talents. To begin with, he is one of the few players in the league that is a dominant defensive presence and an elite rebounder. Using my PAA methods, he is one of two players to have above 1.5 PAA in both rebounding and rim defense, the other being Andrew Bogut. Even when those restrictions are expanded to above 1 PAA in both categories, the list only includes Ibaka, Bogut, Joakim Noah, Robin Lopez, Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, and John Henson (minimum 40 games). That list contains some of the best big men in the game, but it is not Ibaka's presence on this list alone that makes him unique.
Sidenote: You may ask how he is an elite rebounder, since he is averaging only 8.8 rebounds, which ranks 19th in the league. But by PAA he is the ninth best rebounder, above players like Blake Griffin and Tim Duncan, who have more pure rebounds than him. Remember, for PAA I only look at contested rebounds. Ibaka is among the top ten of contested rebounds per game, and also in the top in terms of contested rebounding percentage. A large reason why Ibaka may not have as many rebounds as some players whom I said he was better than is that he has Kevin Durant on his team, who snags a TON of uncontested rebounds. Where as nearly half of Ibaka's rebounds have been contested, barely over 20% of Durant’s rebounds have. This suggests that Ibaka is deferring uncontested rebounds to Durant a lot of the time. But when it comes down to fighting for rebounds, Ibaka is very talented at doing that.
Close Shots: 0.78 PAA
Catch and Shoot 2's: 0.94 PAA
Total Shot: 1.78
Of all the players with over 1 PAA in both rebounding and rim defense, they are either having a down year offensively (Duncan) or are not know to be skilled offensively (everyone else). Yet Ibaka is the outlier: he is actually quite a skilled offensive player. He is fifth in terms of close scoring among players who have played more than thirty games, and he is second (behind only Dirk Nowitzki) in terms of catch and shoot twos. Obviously he doesn't have the range of a player like Kevin Love, but he also doesn't only have the ability to dunk like Blake Griffin. Among big men who have played more than thirty games this season, he ranks behind only Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Bosh, and Kevin Love in terms of total shooting. The fact that he is among the top the rebounders, defenders, and scorers shows how unique he really is.
The Rest
The rest of his stats are nothing special. Ibaka is slightly positive in catch and shoot threes as well as pull up threes, but slightly negative in drives and pull up twos. He's also below average in terms of passing and steals. But what keeps him among the top players in terms of PAA is that he doesn't have a single really bad category. Kevin Love is really bad at defense. Blake Griffin is only significantly above average in two categories: close shots and rebounding. Dwight Howard has limited offensive moves. The player most similar to Ibaka may be Al Horford, who in his 29 games this season post similar close and catch and shoot numbers to Ibaka, similar rebounding numbers, and his defense was only slightly below 1 PAA.
Ibaka has posted great numbers this year, but is he among the best players in the league? It is possible that playing with a player like Kevin Durant has allowed Ibaka to excel. He doesn't have to do too much offensively, and undoubtedly gets a bunch of open looks when Durant is double-teamed. He also complements Durant nicely, providing a physical, shot blocking presence in the frontcourt to go along with the Slim Reaper. If Ibaka were asked to do what Griffin has been doing for the Clippers the past month, maybe he wouldn't be posting as good of numbers.
But he has been posting these numbers, and was worthy of an all-star spot after helping Durant to guide the Thunder to such a hot start. I'd have rather seen Ibaka in there than Anthony Davis, LaMarcus Aldridge, or even Tony Parker. With Westbrook back, the Thunder now have a dynamic trio, and new Big Three could be crowned NBA champions this June. Without Ibaka, I don’t think that happens.